kerrontatapaan

Kerrontatapaan is a term used in Finnish literary studies to describe the narrative mode or method by which a story is told. It encompasses the narrator’s identity, voice, perspective, and the amount of information available to the reader. The concept covers who tells the story (for example, first person or third person), how much they know (omniscient versus limited knowledge), and how trustworthy or unreliable their account appears. It also includes how the narration is framed and how discourse comments on events or characters.

Key components of kerrontatapaan include focalization (whose viewpoint is presented), narrative distance, and the handling of tense and direct speech. It also concerns how events are ordered and presented, such as linear progression versus non-linear structures, flashbacks, foreshadowing, and frame narrations or digressions. The choice of Kerrontatapaan interacts with aspects like tempo, suspense, and reader engagement, influencing how readers interpret motives, causality, and meaning.

In literary analysis, identifying the kerrontatapaan helps explain the effects a text achieves, including credibility, intimacy, and interpretation. It is commonly discussed alongside other narratology concepts such as plot, character narration, and discourse, providing a lens to examine how storytelling choices shape understanding.

The term is primarily used in Finnish scholarship and is often translated as narrative mode or narrative technique. While related to global narratology, Kerrontatapaan emphasizes the method of storytelling as perceived within Finnish literary discourse.